A teenage metal detectorist has uncovered a stunning treasure trove of hundreds of pieces of ancient silver.

David Hall found the haul of over 300 objects, known as hacksilver, in a field in Fife in 2014 when he was just 14.

They include a silver fluted bowl, a beaker decorated with a sprouting vine pattern and an intricate silver dish.

Experts believe Roman soldiers would have used the chopped up pieces of precious metal to bribe Pictish tribesmen they encountered in Scotland.

The relics have been painstakingly restored by experts over the past three years and will now go on public display for the first time.

A stunning treasure trove comprised of hundreds of pieces of ancient silver will go on public display for the first time. David Hall from Livingston (right) found the objects when he was 14. Now 16, Alice Blackwell and other experts (left) have restored his haul

HACKSILVER FINDS

David Hall from Livingston found the objects, known as hacksilver, in a field near the village of Dairsie in Fife when he was 14.

Experts have attempted to reconstruct the jigsaw puzzle presented by the vast number of objects.

They have identified four Roman vessels from among the pieces, which they have now partially rebuilt.

This includes a fluted bowl, a beaker decorated with a sprouting vine pattern and an intricate silver dish.

They have also examined the process by which the objects were cut into currency, as well as damage that has been caused over the centuries, including by ploughing.

The results will be put on display for a free exhibition entitled Scotland's Early Silver, opening at the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh on October 13.

The teenager, from Livingston, first became interested in metal detecting after watching a US TV show.

This inspired him to save up for a budget detector, which he took out to search for buried artefacts.

He had only been using it for a few months when he located the 'significant' find buried near the village of Dairsie.

Speaking to the BBC Mr Hall, who is now 16, said: 'It was quite a boring day.

'I was at a rally with 103 metal detectorists and we were looking in three fields and nothing had come up.

'All of a sudden I found a few bits of silver and I showed it to a friend who said it was Roman and after that we found another 200 pieces on the first day.

'I didn't realise how important it was at first, but it's been really exciting to be able to come and see what National Museums' curators and conservators have been able to do to clean it up and to examine it to work out what it is.

'It looks really different now. It's great to have unearthed a piece of history and I'm looking forward to seeing it on display at the museum.'

Mr Hall's find dates to the late third century AD and predates the earliest known use of hacksilver by around 100 years.

Hacksilver was created when valuable objects were cut into chunks, or bullion.

The weight of the raw material was more important than the beauty of the object, and was used as a form of currency.

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Experts have attempted to reconstruct the jigsaw puzzle presented by the vast number of objects.

They have identified four Roman vessels from among the pieces, which they have now partially rebuilt.

Experts believe Roman soldiers would have used the chopped up pieces of precious metal it to bribe the Pictish tribesmen they found north of the border. Shown here are fragments of a fluted bowl

They have identified four Roman vessels from among the pieces, which they have now partially rebuilt. Shown here are fragments of the two packages of a fluted bowl being pieced together

The objects, known as hacksilver, were created when valuable objects were cut into chunks, or bullion. Tantalising fragments of a decorated beaker pictured here show a sprouting vine pattern

This includes a fluted bowl, a beaker decorated with a sprouting vine pattern and an intricate silver dish.

They have also examined the process by which the objects were cut into currency, as well as damage that has been caused over the centuries, including by ploughing.

The restored objects will be put on display as part of a free exhibition called Scotland's Early Silver, opening at the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh, on October 13.

In a written statement Dr Fraser Hunter, principal curator of Iron Age and Roman collections at National Museums Scotland, said: 'When the hoard was buried in the later third century AD, Scotland was outside the Roman world.

The weight of the raw material was more important than the beauty of the object, and was used as a form of currency. Here a quarter of a silver dish, folded into a package, is shown

Experts believe Roman soldiers would have used the chopped up pieces of precious metal it to bribe the Pictish tribesmen they found north of the border. Part of the decorated central design of the dish is shown

This particular find dates to the late third century AD and predates the earliest known use of hacksilver by around 100 years. Pictured are fragments of the decorated rim from the dish

'A century earlier they’d been sending silver coins into Scotland as a form of bribery.

'This was sensible frontier diplomacy – using silver sweeteners to buy peace beyond the frontier. But this policy ended in the early third century.

'We thought the Roman world had lost interest in Scotland as more pressing problems elsewhere took their eye.'

WHO WERE THE PICTS? THE TRIBE WHO HELD OUT IN THE NORTH

William Wallace's blue face paint in Braveheart is a nod to the Pictish tradition

The Picts were a group of wild savages who infamously fought off Rome's toughest legions before disappearing from history.

The collection of tribes lived in what is today eastern and northern Scotland during the Late Iron Age and early Medeival periods from around 270-900AD.

The Picts eventually formed a tribal confederation whose political motivations derived from a need to ally against common enemies such as the Britons and the Romans.

The Roman name for the people - Picti - means 'painted people'. It's not known what they called themselves.

Mel Gibson's blue face paint in Braveheart is a nod to the Pictish tradition of body-paint - but the real Picts fought stark naked, and there are records of them doing so up until the 5th Century.

The habit of fighting naked, especially in the cold Scottish climate, didn't harm the tribe's reputation for ferocity.

Picts held the territory north of the Firth of Forth in Scotland - and were one of the reasons even heavily armoured Roman legions could not conquer Scotland.

The Picts mysteriously disappear from written history around 900AD.

Experts suggest that they likely merged with southern Scots, who already had a written history by that time, and the two clans' histories combined.

'But this Fife find rewrites the story. It shows there were continuing attempts to keep the northern tribes sweet – especially on the east coast.'

'It’s a find of European significance, changing the way we understand how Rome dealt with its northern neighbours.'

The exhibition will show for the first time how silver rather than gold was the most important precious metal in Scotland during the first millennium AD.

The 300 objects were found in a field near the village of Dairsie in Fife

The hoard, uncovered by a teenage metal detectorist in Scotland in 2014, was found towards the rear of this trench at a rally attended by 103 metal detectorists, The haul has now been painstakingly restored

Experts have attempted to reconstruct the jigsaw puzzle presented by the vast number of objects. Each flag in this image marks the findspot of a fragment